The JR Freight Class DF200 is a diesel-electric locomotive operated by the Japan Freight Railway Company since March 1993 and Kyushu Railway Company since October 2013.
History[]
The DF200 is a diesel-electric locomotive designed by JR Freight to replace the aging DD51 locomotives as well as being more powerful to allow long trains to be pulled without the need for multiple locomotives.
The first locomotive, DF200-901, was completed in September 1992; it entered service in March 1993. Full-production models began construction in September 1994 and entered service on 15 November 1994. A total of fifty locomotives were built in three subseries; -0, -50 and -100. From 2016 to 2017, some DF200-100 locomotives were rebuilt to become -200 subseries locomotives, retaining the same number but replacing the first digit with a 2. JR Kyushu operates a special DF200 locomotive, numbered DF200-7000 for their Seven Stars in Kyushu locomotive-hauled "cruising train" service.
The locomotives are nicknamed ECO-Power Red Bear as part of a naming campaign; these are the only diesel locomotives that were given nicknames names by JR Freight.
Specifications[]
The DF200s are fitted with a V12 prime mover and FMT100 traction motors. -0 subseries models and DF200-901 use a MTU 12V396 prime mover making 1,700 PS (1,250 kW) while the remaining locomotives use a Komatsu SA12V170-1 prime mover making 1,800 PS (1,324 kW). The locomotives are also fitted with Toshiba GTO or IGBT variable frequency drives in addition to a nose suspension drive system.
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